Have no fear, Rush Tickets are here

As a way of giving back to the Kean community and garnering public interest in the performing arts, Kean Stage is now offering Rush Tickets for select performances.

“Rush Tickets” is an industry term for tickets available for purchase the day of the performance at a discounted sales price.

Professional theaters have Rush Ticket policies in place, so patrons who frequent Broadway shows need little introduction to Kean Stage’s new initiative.

“Originally, we wanted to call it ‘Cougar Tickets,’ but ‘Rush’ sounded more professional for the theater environment,” said Rusty Flores, manager of the Box Office at Wilkins Theater. “It’s something that patrons are comfortable and used to, so it’s not something that has to have a lot of introduction because they already know about it.”

The idea of Rush Tickets was proposed as a solution to combat low-ticket sales. The initiative is aiming to fill empty seats during performances.

“We have an amazing theater department and all the shows they set are always great and I just feel like it lacks a lot of participation from the community when it comes to buying tickets,” said Flores. “They don’t get the actual audience they should for the plays they put on.”

Flores, a senior and International Business major, is hoping that discounted prices will appeal to college students who procrastinate or are on a budget.

“I personally like it because it’s a good thing for people who like to wait last minute,” said Flores. “Because we are a university, we have a lot of people who wait ‘til last minute … and you know us college students don’t have a lot of money to spend like that.”

Rush Tickets are solely intended for purchase by Kean faculty, staff, alumni and current students with proper identification.

They can only be purchased in person at the Box Office two hours prior to each performance. Rush Tickets are not available for purchase over the phone or on the web nor can they be reserved.